Dragonborn
by rcmgamer218
Summary: Alex Williams; just your typical teenage mutant, caught in the beginning of a crisis that could mark the end of mutant or human-kind, or both, if he and the X-Men don't stop it. Will Alex and his new friends be able to secure piece between homo-sapient and homo-superior, or will he break from the hatred and cruelty mutants suffer as humans fight to preserve their dominance?
1. Chapter 1

X-Men Evolution: Dragonborn

In the city of Bayville, New York, Professor Charles and Sue Storm were waiting at the train station, looking for the newest student of the Institute for Gifted Youngsters. As the first train of the day arrived, they began looking for a boy around fifteen years old, carrying several bags. After awhile, Xavier found him, wearing a black trench coat, and carrying three different bags.

"Alexander Williams?" Xavier asked, rolling over to the boy, and he looked at the Professor and Storm, and smiled.

"Yes. I take it you're Professor Xavier." Alex said, and Xavier nodded. "It's good to finally meet you." Alex greeted.

"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to our School, and get you settled in." Xavier said, and they led Alex to their limo, which would take them to Alex's new life.

"Whoa…" Alex said, as he looked out the window of the limo, looking at the huge mansion that was before him. He had never seen a house that large, living in Arkansas most of his life, and he was truly impressed. When he got out the limo, he was taken to Xavier's study, where three other people were waiting for him; one was a nineteen year old boy with red sunglasses, a nineteen year old girl with red hair, and a sixteen year old boy with blue hair.

"Scott, Jean, Kurt, this is our new student, Alex Williams." Xavier said, and Scott held out his hand to Alex.

"Welcome to the Institute Alex, nice to meet you." Scott said, and Alex nodded as he shook Scott's hand.

"So Alex, what talents brought you here?" Jean asked, and Alex quickly got nervous and cautious, something Xavier quickly picked up on.

"Alex, you don't have to worry about being judged here; everyone at this school all has special gifts. Scott here can produce a concussive blast from his eyes. Jean is psychic, much like me, and Kurt is a teleporter." Xavier explained, and Alex nodded as he took off his trench coat, and laid it across a nearby table. Alex then began concentrating, and Scott, Jean, and Kurt were shocked to see Alex's skin color go from pale to reddish black, and his skin turn into scales, and his nails turned into sharp, black claws. Finally, the back of Alex's shirt was ripped by two large wings that resembled those of a European dragon. Alex started flapping his wings, and he started floating up, all the way to the ceiling of the room.

"Whoa!" The three said, and Alex smirked as he began flying around in circles, occasionally picking up speed, but he was starting to create a whirlwind, making everything fly around in the giant gust, also Alex was quickly losing control. Unable to stop, he began flying wildly out of control, eventually flying right into a wall.

"Oof!" Alex went, as he hit the wall and then the ground. After coming too after being unconscious for a few seconds, Alex saw that he turned the once neat and clean room, into giant mess. "Ah man…Professor…I'm so sorry!" Alex said quickly, and the Professor looked around the room, and smiled.

"It's quite alright Alex, that's why you're here; to help you control your powers." Xavier said, and Alex looked over at Scott, Jean, and Kurt.

"Are you guys alright? I'm really sorry about that; I haven't mastered flying yet." Alex said sheepishly.

"It's alright mien friend, accident happens." Kurt said, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah. Besides, we should be asking you if you're alright; you're the one that hit the wall." Scott said.

"Well…I'm fine; these scales are stronger than tempered steel. It takes a lot to hurt me when I'm like this." Alex said, and he began scratching the back of his head when he looked at the mess he made. "I'll get this cleaned up right away Professor." Alex said.

"You don't need to worry about it Alex; I'll show you to your room. I'll take care of this myself." Xavier said, and he rolled out of the room, and Alex cautiously followed him, hoping to avoid causing anymore destruction.

When Xavier and Alex got to the room he would be staying in, Alex looked around in amazement at the size of the room, and put his bags on the bed.

"You'll be staying here while you're living with us. If you have any questions, just ask anyone. Welcome to the Institute Alex, I hope you'll enjoy yourself while you're here. I've already had you enrolled at the local high school. Breakfast is at seven every day, and you will have to be in the van at eight." Xavier said, and Alex nodded.

"Okay. Thank you professor, for everything." Alex said, and the professor left the room, leaving Alex to get settled in.

A couple of hours later, Alex walked out his room and decided to explore, hoping to get an idea of where everything was from where he was staying. He came across a few of the students in the building, and introduced himself. Alex eventually came across the kitchen, and saw a bowl of fruit, and decided to grab an apple to snack on. As he bit into the apple, he saw a girl walk into the kitchen as well, but she walked through the walls, not a doorway.

"Whoa!" Alex yelled, and the girl jumped back, not expecting Alex to yell.

"Wah!" The girl yelled, jumping back, and after the two recollected themselves, they calmed down.

"Sorry about that; I wasn't expecting for someone to go through the walls." Alex said, and the girl just smiled.

"It's okay. I, like, get that a lot when we get a new student. Like, welcome to Mutant High. I'm Kitty Pryde." Kitty introduced, and Alex nodded, holding out his hand.

"Alex Williams. Nice to meet you. So, you can phase through walls?" Alex asked, and Kitty nodded.

"That, and pretty much anything else you can think of. What's your power?" Kitty asked.

"I can turn into a dragon…so to speak." Alex said, and Kitty looked at Alex in shock.

"Like, seriously!" Kitty asked, and Alex shrugged, when suddenly, a man with large side burns walked in, looking annoyed.

"What's with all the yelling?" The man asked, and Kitty looked apologetic.

"Sorry Logan, just got scared by the new kid." Kitty said, and Logan just growled and walked out of the kitchen. "That's Logan, one of our training instructors, which brings me to mention rule number one here; don't piss off Logan. He might not kill you then." Kitty explained, and Alex gulped nervously.

"Great." Alex said, when suddenly, he felt a presence inside his head.

"Students, please report for the Danger Room for daily training, and to meet our newest student." The voice went, and Alex was both freaked and confused about what happened.

"What the…" Alex went.

"That's the Professor; instead of using an intercom, he talks to us telepathically." Kitty explained, and Alex nodded in understanding.

"Oh. That's both creepy, and cool." Alex said.

"Come on, I'll show you to the Danger Room." Kitty went, and Alex chuckled.

"Sounds like a pleasant place." Alex said sarcastically, and Kitty laughed.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, trust me." Kitty said, and the two made their way to the Danger Room.

"Everyone, this is our newest student, Alex Williams. I'm sure a lot of you have already been acquainted with him, but I just want to make sure every gets to know him. Now, Alex, this is the Danger Room; this is where you can train in the use of your powers and help you control them. Would you like to go ahead and get started with simple flying exercises and help you control your other abilities?" Xavier asked, and Alex nodded.

"Nothing will be shooting at me, will there?" Alex asked, and Xavier smiled.

"No, not this time." Xavier said, and Alex was going to say something, but he just sighed as he walked out of the Observation Room, and in the middle of the Danger Room.

"Okay Alex; you're main objectives are to fly through every ring you'll see, and hit the floating targets with either your wings or your flames." Xavier said, and everyone that didn't know Alex was curious about Alex's abilities, especially when he turned into his dragon form, and expanded his wings. Suddenly, as Xavier pressed buttons on the control console, the Danger Room began changing holographically, turning into a giant, space like abyss, filled with rings and spheres made of light, and occasional floating stone platforms. "Are you ready Alex?" Xavier asked, and Alex nodded.

"Yes sir, professor. As I'll ever be." Alex said, and Xavier chuckled.

"Just relax Alex; I'm sure you'll do fine." Xavier said, and when Xavier started the program, Alex got on all fours, and made running start off the platform he was on, and began flapping his wings.

As Alex approached a ring, he's spin around, causing his wings to wrap around him, and Alex would spin through each ring. When Alex saw his first target, he took in a deep breath, and when he was close enough, he quickly exhaled, causing a huge flame to shoot out of his mouth, destroying the target on contact. The rest of the students, and even Xavier, Storm, and Logan were impressed with the amount of power Alex was displaying. Eventually, Alex saw that there were two targets parallel to each, so he stopped flapping his wings, and spread them as far as he could, causing the wings to hit both targets, slicing them cleanly in half. Alex continued flying through the air, going through rings and either burning targets with his fire, or slicing them with his wings, until he reached the final platform, ending the simulation.

"That was amazing! How'd I do?" Alex asked, out of breath.

"You did very well for your first Alex. Though…you may have been a bit over zealous with hit the targets with your fire, and slicing them with your wings." Xavier said, and Alex looked around the Danger Room, and saw that several walls were sliced, and parts of the floor and roof were on fire, causing Alex to blush out of embarrassment.

"Sorry professor; sometimes…I can't help myself when I'm having fun." Alex admitted, and the Professor smiled.

"It's quiet alright Alex; what you've done isn't nearly as bad as some the other students." Xavier said, and Alex made his way to the Observation Deck while the automatic fire control systems kicked in.

When Alex walked in, he was swarmed by his fellow classmates, all of them asking questions about his unique powers.

"Wow! That was amazing! Are you able to fly all the time?" One mutant asked.

"How fast can you fly?" Another asked, and they just kept asking questions, making Alex uncomfortable.

"Alright you guys, leave Alex alone; he's probably exhausted." Jean said, and Alex gave a sigh of relief when the other mutants stopped asking questions.

When training in the Danger Room was over, Alex decided to go back to his room, get on his computer, and send an email to his parents.

'Hey mom, dad. Letting you know that I reach the Xavier Institute alright. I really like it here; everyone here, teachers and students alike, are like me, sort of. They have powers, but they're all different. Everyone's been so nice and polite to me; it makes me feel at home. Hopefully they'll stay like this, even though there's a risk that I might burn the whole building to the ground by accident, lol. I can't thank you two enough for letting me come here; I think I'll finally learn how to control my power, and not slice any vehicles in half. I hope dad isn't still mad at me about that; I didn't mean to slice the roof of his car off, I was just trying to learn how to fly, and I just lost control. Anyway, just letting you two know how things are going here at the Institute; I'm going to be starting a new year at the local high school in a couple of weeks, and I need to learn how to burp without fire coming out. Not accidentally anyway. Love you, Alex.' Alex sent the email, and left his room to go find some of the other mutants, and saw that some of them were watching T.V. He joined them, when suddenly, Kurt appeared out of thin air, and landed behind the couch.

"There you are Alex, I've been trying to find you." Kurt said.

"What do you need, Kurt?" Alex asked.

"Just what is the extent of your powers? You made quiet the display during training today." Kurt asked, and Alex smirked.

"To be honest, even I don't know. According the Professor, I was going over seventy-five miles an hour when I was at my fastest. I know my wings can cut through steel when I go fast enough; I found that out when I accidentally turned my dad's car into a convertible when I was trying to teach myself how to fly. And my fire breath melt just about anything. And my claws can cut through steel." Alex explained.

"Wait, you're telling me you cut your dads car with your wings!" Kurt asked, beginning to laugh. But when he processed what Alex said again, he stopped laughing. "And…you're parents know that you're…" Kurt started, and Alex nodded.

"A mutant? Yeah; they were actually helping me learn how to control until the Professor showed up and offered a better alternative." Alex explained.

"So…they're okay with you being a mutant?" A mutant, Bobby, asked.

"Yeah; they know that I didn't choose this life." Alex explained.

"Man, you have a lucky life." Another mutant said, and Alex shrugged.

"You guys have it pretty good, too; you're living in great place like this, have teachers that care about each other, and around your own kind." Alex explained, and the other mutants nodded. Suddenly there was a knock on the front door, and Kurt walked over to the door, and opened it, surprised and terrified about who it was; the girl that infiltrated the Institute about a few months ago, who was known only as X-23.

"You!" Kurt asked in terrorized shock.

"I need to speak with Wolverine and your Professor Xavier." X-23 said.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Although the entire Institute was surprised by X-23's unexpected arrival, she was allowed to enter and speak with Xavier and Logan, who was all in the Professor's office, discussing whatever it was that X-23 wanted to talk about. And while they were talking, which took the entire day, Kitty was using her powers to phase her ear through the professor's door to eavesdrop, and give Kurt updates on their meeting. Alex, who was confused about what was going on, followed the two mutants, and saw them listening in.

"Is all this standard routine for the X-Men? Listening in on other people's conversations?" Alex asked.

"Yes actually; we do it on a regular basis." Kurt said, and Alex just smirked.

"So what's going on; what is it about this girl that you guys don't like?" Alex asked, and Kurt looked upset.

"A few months ago, that girl infiltrated this school and knocked out over half of us just to get to Logan, and fight him. You see, she's a clone of Logan, believe or not; she was created by HYDRA to be an assassin, but she betrayed them, and hunted Logan down instead. She has all of Logan's powers, being able to heal rapidly and has claws made out of adamantium, courtesy of HYDRA." Kurt said, and Alex looked both shocked and pitiful, surprised to hear that someone could make a child go through things like that. "So Kitty, what's going on?"

"I think…I think X-23 is, like, asking the Professor to allow her to stay…here…to, like, live here." Kitty said, trying to focus on the conversation in the Professor's Office.

"So, X-23, you're saying that you want to live here, with us?" Xavier asked, and X-23 nodded hesitantly.

"Yes…Wolverine…I mean, Logan, said that you'd be willing to let me live here…that'd I'd be safe here. Look…I'm not used to asking others for help, so I'm just going to go." X-23 said, and she was about to leave, but Logan stepped in front of her, blocking her.

"X-23, wait, I'm not saying that you're not allowed to stay with us. Of course you're allowed to live here. I'm just surprised that you came of your own free will." Xavier said, and X-23 shrugged.

"Logan promised me that if I came here, I'd have my own room to stay in, food to eat, and that I won't have to hide from Shield anymore. Is that true?" X-23 asked, and Xavier looked at Logan, and then back at X-23.

"Yes. All that can be arranged. Shield will never know you're here. Now, we'll have to nearby computer, and activated it. "Do you have any ideas on what you'd like to be called?" Xavier asked, and X-23 shook her head.

"How about 'Laura'?" Logan asked seriously, and X-23 thought it over and eventually nodded.

"Okay, 'Laura' it is. Though, you'll need a last name. I think Logan will do, considering your relation to him." Xavier said, and X-23 actually looked a bit annoyed at Xavier's suggestion, but Logan just smirked. "Okay, now that that's taken care of, Logan, you can show Laura to her new room. I'll let the others know of our new arrival." Xavier said, and Logan nodded as he motioned Laura to follow him. When Logan opened the door however, Kurt and Kitty fell forward, but Alex was nowhere to be seen. After collecting themselves, they looked at Logan and Laura, which the latter looked at them with a threatening glare. "Ah, well, I see our two 'information seekers' have already been informed about you Laura. Kurt, Kitty, I'd like you to meet our newest student; Laura Logan. She'll be living with us for awhile." Xavier said, and the two got up and smiled nervously.

"I'll deal with you two later." Logan said annoyed, and he led Laura out of the office.

* * *

><p>After Laura was settled in, Xavier called every student into the living room to meet Laura, though he'd know all of them would be surprised by the news.<p>

"Everyone, we just received another new student, though, most of you already know who she is; everyone, I'd like you to meet, Laura Logan." Xavier said, and Laura walked around the corner, revealing herself to the other students. They weren't shocked silent at first, but Xavier could hear their confused thoughts. "I know you all had a troubled experience with Laura the last time she was here, but I'm hoping, and expecting, you to put that behind you, and make Laura feel welcome." Xavier said, and Scott stepped forward.

"Of course Professor; the X-Men don't hold grudges." Scott said, and Xavier smiled as the others nodded and smiled.

"Good. Now, everyone should get to sleep; for those who haven't graduated, your new school year will be starting in three weeks, and you need to get ready." Xavier said, and everyone went back to their bedrooms, except for Laura. "That means you too Laura; this may be a school, but you need to learn how to blend in with the crowd on a social level so you can make it out in the real world." Xavier said, and Laura nodded as she went back to her bedroom, one of the many things she'd thought she'd actually have.

* * *

><p>When Laura walked into her room, she turned the light on, looked around, and for perhaps the first time in her life, she smiled. Laura wasn't sure how things were going to work out at the Institute, but if everything Logan promised her comes true, she knew she'd finally be able to live in peace, without running or without the fear of being found for those who just want to use her abilities. Laura then decided to lie down on her bed, which felt comfortable, something she never experienced before. Of course, everything about being in the Institute was new to her, the room, the bed, the kindness; none of it Laura experienced with HYDRA, or in the wilderness. As Laura put the blanket over and closed her eyes to go to sleep, she was thinking she was going to enjoy being at the Institute.<p>

* * *

><p>When Alex woke up the next morning, he got out of bed to stretch his arms and wings, and made his way to the bathroom, only to find a long line in front of it. Surprised, Alex just sighed and got behind the last person in line, telling himself he'd have to get used to it. After getting cleaned up and dressed, Alex decided to head to the main dining room, where everyone else was already eating.<p>

"Good morning Alex. Did you sleep well?" Xavier asked, and Alex nodded and smiled.

"Yes Professor, thank you." Alex said, grabbing a plate and putting food on it.

"Good, because we have a training session today, and you're going to be a part of it bub." Logan said, and Storm looked at Logan worriedly.

"Logan, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, he just started…" Storm started, and Logan interrupted her.

"He's going to have to start eventually. No time like the present anyway." Logan said, and Alex smirked.

"I'm game. Sounds fun." Alex said, and everyone looked at Alex sadly.

"_You've _never done a training session with _Logan._ You won't think it's so fun afterwards." Kitty said, and Alex just kept smirking.

"That means you too kid; I expect you to be out there with the rest of us in two hours." Logan said as Laura walked into the room.

"Whatever." Laura simply said, grabbing a plate and started eating breakfast. Meanwhile, one of the other students, a girl named Amara, was looking Alex's wings, which he had torn through the back of his shirt.

"So…do they never go away? Even when you get out of your…dragon form, you called it?" Amara asked, and Alex looked at her, and realized she was talking about his wings.

"Oh, yeah. They're always out here. For some reason, they never disappear, even when I turn into my human form. I don't mind though; I love flying." Alex said cheerfully as he kept eating.

"Anything else you can use while outside your dragon form?" Kurt asked, getting ready to take a bite out of his sausage link, which all of sudden was set on fire when a burst a flame appeared out of Alex's mouth.

"Maybe." Alex said sarcastically, and the others laughed while Kurt freaked out and blew out his now burnt sausage link. "I also have super human strength, speed, heightened reflexes, and what I call my dragon senses, whether I'm in my dragon form or not." Alex explained.

"What do you mean by 'dragon senses'?" Jean Grey asked, and Alex again smirked.

"I have heightened hearing, smell, and sight, meaning I can hear and smell things others can, and I can see up to two miles when I activate my senses." Alex explained.

"So you can activate your senses whenever you want to?" Scott said, and Alex nodded.

"Yeah. That's about the extent of my abilities outside my dragon form." Alex explained.

"Well then what's the point of your dragon form?" Amara asked.

"Well, the first use of that form is my scales; they're stronger than tempered steel, and when I wrap my wings around me, it's like adding a second layer of steel around me. There are also my claws, which can slice through steel like a hot knife through melted butter. My regular teeth turn into fangs, which can tear through anything with flesh. Don't ask how I know that." Alex said.

"Well, you certainly have an impressive list of powers." Xavier said.

"Yes sir and I love them all!" Alex said proudly.

"Hmm…most children, and some adults, would see their gifts as a curse, even after being taught how to use them properly. You seem to have gladly accepted them." Xavier said, amazed and impressed.

"Well, the way I see it Professor, I was never given a choice if I wanted these abilities or not, so I shouldn't sulk about having them. Like I always say; if life gives you lemons, burn them to a crisp." Alex said, and Xavier nodded, and everyone continued with their breakfast.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours after breakfast, Alex, along with the other students, went outside to take part in Logan's training session. When Logan met them out there, he was followed by Hank McCoy, also known as Beast, most likely to make sure Logan doesn't push the children too far. As Logan got the training programs ready, Alex turned into his dragon form, and spread his wings, ready to go.<p>

"Okay, your objective is to reach the end of the course without losing your team member, while trying to stop the other teams from beating you to it and avoiding the hazards. Half-pint, you're with the Elf. Ice Cube is with Cannon Ball. Scale Face is with Laura, and Sun Spot is with Magma." Logan explained, and the other mutants got ready. "Any questions?"

"Yeah; any hints for the new guy?" Alex asked.

"Yeah; don't screw up!" Logan said, and Alex smirked.

"Great, thanks." Alex said as he got on all fours, and had his wings lay back to reduce wind resistance.

"GO!" Logan ordered, and the children took off, with Alex and Laura getting a head start.

"I got our left flank covered. You take the right, and don't get in my way!" Laura ordered, and Alex rolled his eyes.

"Well, you're certainly a delightful conversationalist." Alex said sarcastically, but he admitted that Laura had a good idea, so he went with it, watching for whatever Logan meant by 'hazards, when suddenly, a net flew from the trees, heading straight for Alex; he responded with a quick fire burst, burning the net before it stopped him. As the two continued running, Laura noticed several turrets pop out of the ground, and started firing rubber projectiles at her and Alex.

"Incoming!" Laura said, revealing her claws, ready to stop the projectiles.

"I see them. You take care of the projectiles; I got the guns." Alex said, and every time a turret popped up, he'd either shred it with his claws, or melt it, while Laura would prevent the projectiles from slowing them down. They were getting close to the end, when all of a sudden, the ground fell out from under Laura as she activated pit trap. However, Alex's reflexes were fast enough to spot the danger, and grab Laura's arms while she falling, and flapped his wings so they could get out of the hole before the automatic cage bars closed the pit. Alex then dropped Laura back onto her feet, and the two kept running all the way to the finish line.

"Hmm…very impressive; it takes most of the students over a month to complete even one of Logan's training sessions, Alex and Laura managed to do it in one go." Storm said.

"Yes; it seems that they only use their powers when they need to, not to show off like the others." Xavier explained, as he saw the rest of the students, who were already caught in Logan's traps.

"I don't believe this; the newbie's beat this course with no trouble at all, and yet you whelps _still_ can't! Scale Face, Laura, head back to the Institute, Hank will continue your training for today. As for the rest of you; we're doing this course again until all of you get it right!" Logan said, and there were simultaneous groans from the other students as Beast, Alex, and Laura made their way back to the Institute.

* * *

><p>At the end of training, Alex wouldn't admit it, but he was exhausted; Beast wasn't anywhere near as hard as Logan was when it comes to training, Alex discovered, but training for hours nonetheless wore him out. As he lied down on his bed, Alex spread his wings, hoping that he'll be able to fly later on in the day, maybe even fly outside where he'll have the wind in his face, and smell all the different scents the outside world had to offer. Right before he closed his eyes to take a nap, however, there was a knock on his door.<p>

"Come in." Alex said, and the door opened, and Xavier rolled in.

"So Alex how was your first 'real life' training session, as Logan calls them." Xavier said, and Alex smiled.

"I loved it Professor; the rush of not knowing what to expect, the thrill of being hunted. It gave a great adrenaline rush!" Alex said, which surprised Xavier.

"Hmm…most of the other children don't enjoy training with Logan as much." Xavier said, and Alex shrugged.

"Eh, guess I just have higher stamina. But to tell the truth Professor, I was hoping to spend a little outside time practicing flying in an uncontrolled environment." Alex explained.

"What do you mean?" Xavier asked, and Alex got of bed and looked out his window.

"When I was living with my parents, Professor, they did help me learn how to fly, but they wouldn't let me go out side if the weather wasn't clear or if the wind was too strong. I know they were trying to keep me from being carried off by the wind to land who knows where, but they never let me test my limits. I'd like to do that here Professor, if that's alright." Alex said, and Xavier smiled.

"I'm sure we can find the time later on today, but why don't you get some rest first; we don't you flying while exhausted." Xavier said, and Alex nodded while he lied back down on his bed, and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>"This. Is. AMAZING!" Alex said as he looked over the edge of the cliff that was behind the Institute. When he looked down, he saw jagged rocks and crashing waves from what was easily a one hundred and fifty meter drop, and had only the look of excitement show on his face.<p>

"Now Alex, don't push yourself too far. If you don't think you're not ready for this sort of thing, just back away, and we can try again another day." Xavier said, and Alex continued looking over the edge of the cliff, trying to resist the urge to just jump off. He looked like he was about to, when he suddenly just started backing up and eventually turning around and walked slowly back to the Institute. "You have nothing to be upset about Alex, we can try again when you're a bit more comfortable with this." Xavier said, but what Alex did was unexpected; he suddenly turned and began towards the cliff edge, and jumped off. "Alex!" Xavier yelled worriedly, when suddenly, Alex appeared flying above Xavier and the others watching, flapping his wings to gain altitude.

"WOO!" Alex yelled, flying as fast he can, as high as he can. As he reached the highest he could go, Alex folded his wings, and nose dived towards the ocean, gaining speed, and he was about to open his wings so he could fly, but for some reason, he couldn't; he was going to fast for his wings to open. Alex soon started panicking as he got closer and closer to the waters edge, the thought of crashing terrifying him.

"No! Alex!" Xavier yelled in horror as he and the others watched Alex get closer to having a fatal crash. It all happened in slow motion in Alex's eyes though; the feeling of his wings being unable to open, the feeling of death embracing him as he fell closer to the ocean's surface. Just seconds later, the only thing Alex could feel was pain as he hit the ocean, as if he hit solid concrete. He was starting to lose consciousness, when he felt someone hold onto him, and then felt himself leave the water, and somehow end up on dry land instantly. Alex then began to cough up salt water as air filled his lungs, and he felt the shadows of people over him as he came too. "Alex…are you alright?" Xavier asked frantically, worried for Alex's well being.

"Blech! I think I swallowed a fish!" Alex said, and as he started regaining feeling throughout his body, he calmed down when he felt that nothing was broken. "But yeah, I think I'm fine. Doesn't feel like anything is broken." Alex said, and he stood up, proving that he was alright. "Professor, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I honestly didn't know that I would crash." Alex said, and Xavier just sighed.

"It's okay Alex. None of us knew that this would happen. But you must be more careful. And we must find out what happened that made you crash like that." Xavier said, and Alex nodded.

"But one question; how did I go from sinking to the bottom of the ocean, to being next to ya'll again?" Alex asked.

"Kurt brought you here; he teleported to where you crashed and returned you to us before you drowned." Xavier answered, and Alex looked at Kurt.

"Thanks Kurt, I owe you big time." Alex said, and Kurt just shrugged.

"No problem. You would've done the same for me." Kurt said, and Alex nodded as everyone went back to the Institute to find out what happened, and so Alex could rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

"Hmm…it appears that you weren't able to open your wings because you had too much air pressure on top of them." Beast said, going over the footage of Alex's flight.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, looking at the part when he crashed.

"Well, when you nose dived, you picked up a lot of speed and air; as you went through the air during your dive, a lot of air pressure was collected on your back, adding a lot of weight to your wings, making it impossible for them to move." Beast explained, and Alex was beginning to understand.

"So the faster I move, the harder it is for me to move my wings?" Alex asked.

"In theory, yes; it's possible that your brain temporarily forgot how to use your wings because of the excitement you were experiencing while nose diving. Things like that aren't unheard of; except in most other cases, people forget how to move their legs or mouth or breath, not their wings." Beast explained, and Alex spread his wings, and slowly flapped them to make sure he still had control over them.

"So what do you suggest we do then?" Alex asked, and Beast turned off the TV he was using.

"Simple; we have you fly around again, but this time with several pieces of observation equipment, and create a safety net of sorts before you crash and burn again." Beast suggested.

"Don't you mean crash and splash?" Alex joked, and Beast just smiled and rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>Back outside, Alex tried to wait patiently for Beast to put the different pieces of equipment on him, but he was losing that battle.<p>

"Okay, these sensors will monitor your brain activity during your control flight and when you nose dive, while these scales I'm putting on your wings will measure the amount of air pressure that is on your wings when you fly, and when you dive." Beast said as he put the last piece of equipment on Alex.

"Jean, will you be able to catch Alex if he can't pull up in time?" Xavier asked, and Jean nodded.

"Don't worry Professor, Alex can count on me." Jean said confidently.

"Jean, please don't talk like that until 'after' I'm safe." Alex said, spreading his wings.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Jean said, and Alex shrugged.

"Whenever you're ready Alex." Beast said, and Alex spread his wings all the way, and jumped off the cliff, starting his flight. "Okay, I need you to fly around for a few minutes, just like you normally would; I'll let you know when I have enough data and you can start your nose dive." Beast explained.

"Okay." Alex said, and he started his normal flying routine, which lasted about fifteen minutes of him turning and spinning, until Beast acquired enough data.

"Alright Alex, you can begin you ascent now." Beast said.

"Understood. Are you ready Jean?" Alex asked.

"I'm ready." Jean replied, and Alex began climbing the sky until he reached as high as he could.

"Here I go." Alex said, and he folded his wings, pointed downwards, and let himself fall. As he picked up speed, he tried to open his wings, but they wouldn't; Alex tried to remain calm, but he was heading straight for the rock wall of the cliff. "Help! I can't open my wings!" Alex yelled through his communicator, and Jean immediately took action; she reached out with her powers, grabbing Alex and stopping his fall. Once Alex came to a complete stop, barely missing the rocks, he gave a sigh of relief, and began his ascent back to Xavier and the others.

Back in the mansion's lab, Beast was going over the results of the tests, hoping to find out what was causing Alex's wings to refuse to move while making a fast nose dive.

"Hmm…it seems my theory was right; too much air pressure on your back while diving is stopping your wings from opening up." Beast said, and Alex walked over to look.

"So, is there anyway around this?" Alex asked, and Beast began looking at several different variables.

"My best guess; you'll just have to work at making your wings stronger so they can beat the pressure." Beast suggested, and Alex nodded.

"Great. Now how to go about doing that…" Alex asked himself, and he walked out of the lab, and went back to his room.

* * *

><p>'Hey Alex, I'm glad to see that you're settling in alright at the Institute. It's a lot quieter with you gone, and not as many things catch on fire now, but your father and I miss you very much. And no, your dad is not mad at you about the car; he always wanted a convertible. I look forward to hearing from you again, behave, and try and not to burn the school down. Love, mom.' Alex smiled as he read the email from his mom, and put his laptop away when he finished it. With nothing else to do, Alex decided to walk around the school, hoping to find something that got his attention. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw Laura pouring a glass of milk while sitting at the table, so he decided to formally introduce himself.<p>

"Hey, Laura right? My name's Alex Williams; I don't think we've been properly introduced, so, nice to meet you." Alex said, holding out his hand, but Laura just ignored it and kept drinking.

"I'm not here to make a friend; I'm just tired of living in the wild and running from Shield." Laura said.

"Why is Shield chasing you? Pissed in Nick Fury's coffee?" Alex joked, and Laura rolled her eyes.

"How do you know about Nick Fury and Shield?" Laura asked, and Alex smirked.

"You can learn quite a bit here in just a couple of days." Alex said, and Laura just remained quiet. "But seriously, if you're being chased, couldn't the Professor help you out?" Alex asked.

"He is, supposedly, but I'm not so sure." Laura said suspiciously.

"If the Professor promised to help, then he's most likely doing something about it." Alex said, and Laura shrugged. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, when Logan walked in with an unlit cigar.

"Any of you happen to have a light?" Logan asked, and his answer was a sudden burst of flame going by his face, and lighting the cigar. Logan looked at where the fire came from, and saw smoke coming from Alex's mouth. "Thanks." Logan said, and he put the cigar in his mouth, and walked off.

"Well, I think I'm going to get some flying training done; I guess I'll talk to you later Laura." Alex said, and he walked out of the kitchen and headed outside.

* * *

><p>As Alex flapped his wings and began flying around the Institute, enjoying his free time, when he saw Amara hitting several turrets with her fire. "Hey, Amara." Alex greeted as he landed next to her. "What are you up to?" Alex asked.<p>

"Just practicing with my aim. Don't want to get too rusty." Amara said, and he nodded, when suddenly, he heard a sizzling noise under his feet. Alex looked down, and saw a small orange ball glowing; realizing it was an explosive, Alex quickly kicked the ball, and it flew to over near where Beast was helping Bobby train with his ice powers. The ball exploded with a loud pop, surprising Bobby, making him flail his arms, and hit Beast with his ice, covering him in frost. "Nice." Amara commented, looking over at a near by bush, and smirked. "Why don't you come on out Tabitha?" Amara yelled, and a blonde haired girl stood up from behind the bush, and smiled.

"Hey Amara! Who's your friend?" Tabitha asked, walking over.

"Alex; he's a new student here. He arrived just the other day." Amara said, and Alex held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Tabitha." Alex said, and Tabitha shook Alex's hand, but left him a little gift; another one of her explosive spheres.

"Same here. They call me 'Boom Boom' around here." Tabitha said, and Alex smirked as he threw the ball behind him, and it exploded.

"Can't imagine why." Alex joked, and Tabitha smirked with him.

"So what's your power?" Tabitha asked, and Alex smirked as he spread his wings and turned into his dragon form. "Whoa!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Alex said, and he turned back into his human form, but continued his flight.

* * *

><p>Alex spent the majority of the day in the air, trying to get his wings stronger, when he decided to rest at a small island about a mile away from the Institute. It was probably around three miles long, and uninhabited, something Alex found favorable. He landed on the soft grass, got in his reptile form, and let out a small stream of fire, burning the ground around him until there was enough for him to lie down on and bask in the sun. Alex quickly fell asleep, more exhausted than he thought, and began having a very strange dream.<p>

* * *

><p>Alex was standing in the middle of a burning forest, smoke and ash filled the air as trees fell and burned. Alex then began coughing as the smoke filled his lungs, and he heard very sadistic laughing and a shadowy figure walking through the flames.<p>

"You will be mine!" The voice said, and it continued walking through the flames, revealing himself through the light of the flames, and what he saw both shocked and terrified him; it was himself, except that he was in his dragon form, had four reptilian eyes, horns sticking out of his head, and scale-like spines sticking out of his back. The creature began laughing again, and large flames and smoke began shooting out his mouth.

* * *

><p>Alex woke up with a start, and began breathing heavily as he realized it was only a dream. Alex stood up and decided to stretch his legs, when he suddenly heard Xavier's voice in his head.<p>

"Alex, I know you're trying to improve your wing strength, but you still have to show up for Danger Room sessions." Xavier said.

"Aw man! I didn't miss it did I?" Alex asked.

"No, but you better hurry." Xavier said, and Alex was in the air instantly and flew back to the Institute.

* * *

><p>"Sorry I'm late!" Alex yelled as he ran over to the others outside the Danger Room, which was Scott, Jean, Amara, and Laura.<p>

"It's alright Alex, just try to be more punctual next time." Scott said, and Alex nodded as they walked into the Danger Room.

"Okay everyone, you're objective today is to reach the end of the course without being caught in the negative-X nets." Storm said.

"Negative-X nets?" Alex asked, confused.

"They're nets that, when you're caught in them, they block your mutant powers." Scott explained "Well, this sounds fun." Alex said, and the mutants got ready.

"Remember, the key is to use team work, so watch each others back." Storm said, and she started the simulation.

Alex and the others took off running towards the end of the course, and several nets started flying towards them. Alex and Scott got behind the others, using their projectile based powers to take out the nets. Jean and Amara were up front, making sure that Scott and Alex were defended, and Laura took out any that the others missed.

"I must say, their team work has increased greatly, and Laura is adapting remarkably well with working with the others." Storm said as Wolverine and Xavier entered the room.

"Yes, Laura is doing well. Logan, did you have anything to do with this?" Xavier asked, and Logan shook his head. The teachers continued to watch as the students ran through the course, and more nets were coming towards them.

Alex had just burned through a net going towards Laura, but two more were quickly flying towards him. Alex turned around and saw the nets, but they were both shot down by Scott's eye blast. Alex looked at Scott and nodded in thanks, when he noticed several nets flying towards Laura. She was able to slice most of them, but there were too many and moving too fast; one was extremely close to catching Laura, but it was burned down by Alex's flame.

"Don't worry about me! I can handle myself!" Laura said, and Alex ran over next to her.

"We're on a team, whether you like it or not! So we're going to have to work together!" Alex said, and they took off towards the goal, where the others were waiting for them. The nets were increasing in speed and in numbers, and got close to capturing the two, but they made it to the goal just in time, and the simulation ended.

"Good work everyone, you did remarkably well. Alex, good work helping Laura at the last minute, and Scott, you showed good leadership abilities by setting up the team the way you did." Storm said, and everyone nodded and left the Danger Room.

"So, anyone feel like going to mall with me and Scott?" Jean asked, and Amara and Alex nodded.

"Sure, sounds fun. I've never gotten a chance to really explore the city ever since I got here." Alex said, but Laura kept on walking.

"Laura, you want to come with us?" Scott asked.

"No thanks." Laura simply said, and the others just shrugged and went to the garage, where Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt were waiting for them.

"We heard you guys were going to the mall." Kurt said, and everyone got in two different cars; the girls got in Jean's SUV, and the guys got in Scott's car.

"So Alex, what do you think about Bayville so far?" Kurt asked, and Alex shrugged.

"It's alright…not used to living in the big city though. My parents owned a small house in the middle of nowhere, the closest city we lived near was Clinton, and I wasn't allowed to leave the house." Alex said.

"Why? Were they ashamed of you?" Kurt asked, and Alex shook his head.

"No! They loved me very much, it's just…they knew I wouldn't be welcome in society because of my mutation." Alex explained.

"So, how long have you had your powers?" Scott asked, and Alex shrugged.

"Believe it or not, I was born with them." Alex said.

"Really? That must've been why it took so long for the Professor to find you." Scott explained, and Alex shrugged.

I guess, not really sure." Alex explained.

* * *

><p>When the X-Men reached the mall, they split up into groups, out of habit, and began exploring the different stores. Alex was listening to a Bon Jovi CD in the music department, when Kitty walked in.<p>

"You like Bon Jovi?" Kitty asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he's one of the best rock stars alive!" Alex explained, and Kitty got a pop CD.

"You should try listening to some of this; this is real music!" Kitty said, and Alex faked a vomiting face.

"I think I just threw up a little…that's not real music; it's all synthetic; computerized. No talent is needed to make that crap." Alex said, and he continued to listen to his music. Suddenly, the ground started to shake, and people began screaming and running around. "What the…an earthquake!" Alex asked, surprised, and Kitty looked worried.

"It may be worse than that!" Kitty said, and Kurt teleported in front of them.

"It's the Brotherhood!" Kurt yelled, and he teleported out of the store, and Alex was confused.

"Who?" Alex asked, and Kitty grabbed Alex's hands and took him to the courtyard of the mall. When they got next to Scott and the others, Alex saw four guys walking towards them, and Alex could tell they were mutants. "Can someone tell me what's going on?" Alex asked.

"They're the Brotherhood of Mutants; basically troublemakers that like using their powers to cause everyone else problems." Scott said as he put on his visor, and Alex just shrugged.

"Well, well, it looks like the X-Men have a new guy. What do you guys say that we…welcome him?" A guy in a silver outfit said, and the others smiled.

"Yeah, we'll make him feel real welcome." The big guy, and Alex answered by turning into his dragon form.

"Whoa…cool." Said the guy that was sitting like a toad.

"Why don't you guys leave before this gets ugly?" Scott suggested.

"It got ugly when frog boy showed up." Alex said, and the others started laughing.

"Hey! The name's Toad!" Toad said, and they four mutants charged, though Quicksilver just vanished as he ran at full speed. The rest of the X-Men handled the Brotherhood, but Toad decided to handle Alex. "I think it's time you learn my name!" Toad said, and he spat a slime ball at Alex, but he easily dodged it.

"Nice loogie…tell me what you think of mine." Alex said, and he spit a large fireball at Toad, who barely jumped out of the way in time to dodge it.

"Whoa! What the…" Toad started, but he was interrupted by Alex punching him in the face, sending the mutant flying into a wall. Alex smirked when he saw Toad fall to the floor, unconscious, and he saw Blob in front of him.

"Let's see what you're made of tough guy." Blob said, and he tried to punch Alex, but Alex allowed his wings to tear through his shirt, and used them to fly back, avoiding Blob's enormous fist. "Huh?" Blob said, confused, and Alex smirked again.

"Looks like you need to burn off some of that fat, big guy; let me help you." Alex said, and he breathed fire again, and it hit Blob, sending him flying into a wall, like Toad, but he broke through and hit another wall, causing it to crack and several pieces of concrete fell from the second floor, onto Blob's head, knocking him out as well.

"This guy is starting to get on my nerves." Avalanche said, and he began making the mall shake, causing chunks of concrete fall from the ceiling, and one large piece landed on Alex's wing, making him hit the ground, and prevent him from moving. Alex flailed around, trying to get the piece of concrete off, and he noticed a small child, standing still in fright, and a large piece of the second floor beginning to crack above him, and if he didn't move, he'd get crushed. Alex began flailing even harder, when he finally punched the rock, causing it to shatter and allow him to move, and Alex took off towards the child, and grabbed him, and moved him out of the way just in time as the second floor fell where the child was standing. Alex then noticed the boy's mother, and he could tell she was his mother because she was crying and reaching out for him. Alex landed in front of mother, and handed the child to her. The mother hugged her son, and looked at Alex gratefully.

"Thank you." The mother said, and Alex smiled and nodded as the mother ran out of the mall. Alex soon got back into the fight, when he felt something hit his face at high speeds. His steel-hard scales kept it from hurting, but he still felt it. Alex looked around and saw Quicksilver, who stopped running, and was shaking his hand in pain.

"Ow! That hurt!" Quicksilver said, and Alex smirked.

"Steel-hard scales; you won't be hurting me that much if you just punch me." Alex said confidently, and Quicksilver started running again, and began running in circles around Alex, which was starting to get on Alex's nerves. That's when Alex remembered that he had another addition to his powers; he could enhance his reflexes to where everything slows down to a crawl, including Quicksilver. Able to see him now, Alex was able to punch Quicksilver square in the face, sending the teen flying halfway across the mall in series of flips until landing in the central fountain.

"This guy is starting to bug me." Avalanche said, and he started making the ground shake again, but Alex was already in the air, and began flapping his wings heavily towards Avalanche, causing huge gusts of winds, which was making it hard for Avalanche to keep his feet on the ground. Alex's continuous onslaught of gusts eventually sent Avalanche flying backwards, and into a wall, and he was knocked out, just like his partners. With the fight over, Alex landed on the floor and turned back into his human form, and folded his wings. Alex then turned around and saw that his friends were looking at him in shock and amazement.

"Oh man…you…just took down the Brotherhood single-handedly." Kurt said amazed, and Alex shrugged. Scott, however, heard sirens and saw police cars and news vans pull up in the parking lot.

"We should get out of here." Scott said, and the X-Men sneaked out of the mall, and went back to the Institute, where they were expecting to get a lecture.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Xavier was working on some paper work in his office, when Storm walked in, looking distressed.<p>

"Charles, I think you need to take a look at something." Storm said, and she turned on the TV in the room, and showed the news.

"We are here at the Bayville Mall, where a mutant battle has just ended. It appears that the Brotherhood of Mutants, a known group of mutants that use their powers to cause troubles for humans and mutants alike, attacked the mall, causing hundreds of thousand dollars of damage. However, the damage would've been much worse if it wasn't for the X-Men; they were, fortunately, at the mall during this attack and they were able to keep the Brotherhood back until authorities could arrive to arrest the trouble makers. According to the security recordings, one mutant was able to save more than just mall; watch as this one mutant rescues a small child from being crushed under debris." The announcer said, and they switched to the security video of showing a small boy cowering in fear as Alex swooped down, grabbed the child, and the debris falling right as Alex moved. "When the incident was over, the X-Men vanished, however the witnesses were still there, and we were able to get interviews with some of them." The announcer said, and the screen switched from the announcer again, to people that was at the mall at the time.

"The muties are to blame for this! Everything was peaceful around here until they showed up!" A man said, and it switched to the mother of the child Alex saved.

"I…am eternally grateful to the X-Men for being here; if it wasn't for them…I don't even want to think of what would happen to my son. We are so luckily to have them with us." The woman said, and it switched to a police officer.

"The X-Men did a great favor for us; I doubt we'd be able to stop the Brotherhood. I don't know what other people think of the X-Men, but as far as the Bayville Police Department is concerned, the X-Men are always going to be welcomed here." The officer said, and Xavier smiled at what he heard.

"Hmm…it appears that people are beginning to trust mutants. It's slow progress, but its progress none the less." Xavier said, and he looked out the window and saw Scott and Jean pull into the garage.

"So…how are we going to explain this?" Kurt asked.

"We could not mention it, for like, ever." Kitty said, and they saw Xavier, Storm, and Logan waiting for them at the front door. "Or we could blame all on Alex." Kitty said, and Alex looked at Kitty, betrayed and in shock.

"What!" Alex said, and Xavier rolled over to the mutants.

"Everyone, I'd like you to come with me to my office, we have much to talk about." Xavier said, and Scott and the others followed the professor to his office.

"First of all, I'd like to tell you all that I'm proud that you protected everyone at the mall from the Brotherhood." Xavier said, and everyone was surprised to hear the professor say that. "I've taught you all to use your powers for good, and to help people, and you did exactly that, and because of your good deeds, people are slowly beginning to trust mutants." Xavier said.

"Thank you Professor, but to be honest, Alex deserves most of the credit; he did most of the fighting." Scott said, and Alex shrugged.

"That may be, but you all played a part in saving the people in that mall. You should proud." Xavier said, and he dismissed the students. As they walked through the hall, Kitty thought of a very important question.

"So Alex, if you're going to be part of the X-Men, what's your codename going to be?" Kitty asked, and Alex shrugged.

"Not sure; never really thought of it." Alex asked, and Kitty began thinking of a few names.

"How about Lizard? Or Hot Head? Flyboy?" Kitty suggested, but Alex shook his head.

"Nah." Alex said.

"Well, you've got to like, have one!" Kitty said, and Alex just sighed as he decided to think of a name.

"Well, if it's that big of a deal, how about…Dragonborn."


End file.
